Metroid Prime: Hyrule
by Son of Soul Reaver
Summary: After Leaving Aether, Metroid Prime leads Samus to Hyrule just as she hurls a leviathan seed into it. Rated M for violence and language. This is NOT a lemon or a slash fic.
1. Prologue

Metroid Prime: Hyrule

Rated M for Violence and Language. This is NOT a lemon or a slash fic. There will be NO explicit sexual content. I do not own any of the characters or concepts. All of the Metroid and Zelda related characters and concepts are property of Nintendo. Any original characters are still part of the Zelda universe and thus fall under intellectual property rights of Nintendo. This is a fan produced work and not meant to infringe on anyone's rights in any way. I'm a huge fan of both universes and I encourage everyone to please support the official releases.

* * *

As her ship broke the atmosphere of Aether, Samus thought back on her experiences on the strange planet. With the Ing defeated, U-Mos assured her that the Luminoth would recover in time. Their people now had the chance, and that was what mattered. More importantly, Samus had accomplished her mission and ascertained the whereabouts and condition of the GFS Tyr and her crew. The fact that they were all dead wasn't ideal, but the information would still get her paid. With the ship logs and many of the personal logs of the crew safely stored in the Power Suit's memory and backed up in the ship's memory, she felt satisfied that she would see her pay day. She wished she could have kept the Light Suit she used to defeat the Emperor Ing. That would have almost made that crazy nightmare worth it.

An alarm went off, bringing her attention back to the present. She tapped the display, bringing up view of Aether. She was unsure as to why her auto scan had alerted her, at least until she saw the glowing particles beginning to come together at the center of the view. She checked the radiation signature read out, confirming her fear. The particles were phazon. As she watched, they began to draw to a single point, glowing with unrestrained energy. Slowly, a form began to grow out of the mass. A yellow warning sign appeared proclaiming _UNKNOWN PHAZON LIFEFORM._

_Please no,_ the bounty hunter thought, _Please don't let it be her!_

As the form solidified, the reading underneath switched from the yellow letters to blinking red block letters proclaiming _WARNING: PHAZON LIFEFORM METROID PRIME; EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED._ If it hadn't been silhouetted against Aether, she wouldn't have been able to see it. The form hovered above the planet like a dead body in water.

_I have to do something, _she thought, _I can't let her escape._ She maneuvered the ship closer. If she could catch the creature before it regained consciousness, she might have a chance. She fired one more burst from the thrusters and let the ship's momentum carry it forward as she brought the ship's targeting scanner on line. The display lit, but the view was obscured by large red letters; _WEAPONS OFFLINE: REPAIRS INCOMPLETE._

"Damn," she said aloud, "I should have known that would be too easy."

Pressing a small button on the over the left breast of her jump suit, she activated her power suit. She glowed with energy as it materialized around her. She moved quickly to the escape platform. A force field, designed to prevent explosive decompression, surrounded the platform just before the hatch in the roof opened and the platform rose, expelling the bounty hunter into the vacuum of space.

Just as she aimed her arm cannon at the creature, it suddenly moved, raising its head and staring at Samus. For just an instant, there seemed to be recognition in its face, a sense of familiarity. She hesitated.

Without warning, the creature's arm cannon came up. Pure phazon sprayed at the bounty hunter. Samus jumped to avoid the deadly substance, realizing her mistake an instant after making it. With no gravity, there was nothing to pull her back to the ship. She looked down, from her perspective at least, to see the object of her rage and fear staring at her. The creature, Metroid Prime, took a last look at the Hunter's ship, slightly scarred from the raw phazon blast. Suddenly, it flew into the void of space, leaving a glowing trail of phazon particles behind.

Looking up, Samus saw that she was actually looking down at the surface of Aether, and the seriousness of the situation became clear. Tucking into a roll, she reoriented herself so that she was right-side-up relative to the planet. Putting her feet together, she fired her boots' thrusters. Nothing happened. She ignored the flashing _malfunction_ light and tried again. Again nothing.

_SHIT!_ She thought, _The phazon must have fused the thrusters._ As she looked down at the approaching planet, one thought dominated everything else in her mind; _I am SO royally screwed._


	2. Prelude to War

Looking down, Samus saw that she was gradually picking up speed. Despite the safety features of her power suit, she knew that this fall would kill her. If she even survived that long. The Varia shielding could protect her from a lot of heat, but a full blown reentry? Probably not. Still, she had to do something. Transferring all available power to her shields, she looked around for a suitable landing area. It would have to be an ocean or a very large lake. She didn't think that anything in the Torvis Bog would work, but with her thrusters fused, her maneuverability, along with her options, were extremely limited.

Breaking the atmosphere, the friction of air moving past the suit began creating a startling amount of heat. She had entered the atmosphere of dozens of worlds, but always within the safety of her ship. Fortunately, the Varia suit seemed to be doing its job, but the temperature was rising quickly. As far as Samus knew, her suit could handle up to about seven hundred degrees. The hunter didn't know how much heat a reentry generated, but she knew it had to be more than that. The turbulence began to buffet her and she could see the energy of her shields attempting to hold back the intense heat. Based on how much she was sweating, it wasn't working. Then again, that might have been her nerves, she wasn't really sure.

Looking at the land mass before her, the only place with any water that she could see was the Torvis Bog. Doing her best to recall her H.A.L.O. jump training from her time in GFMC boot camp, see maneuvered herself over swamp as best she could. When she was reasonably sure that her trajectory was correct, she rolled into her morph ball form. Balled up as she was, there would be less surface area for her shields to protect. She prayed it would be enough. Her sensors told her when she was about to hit. She held her breath. Then, nothingness.

* * *

Princess Zelda marched down the hall of her castle. Whomever had woken her this early would regret it once they faced her foul mood. She turned a corner and pushed the door open with a force of will. The guards jumped when the heavy oak doors hit the wall, causing a loud _BANG._ She ignored them, instead marching to her throne and taking a seat.

"Bring in the parishioner," she called.

Her herald, a pleasant, likable fellow named Malikai, stepped forward. "Actually, Your Majesty,-"

Zelda held up a hand, cutting him off, "'Highness', Malikai. Not 'Majesty'. My father hasn't left the world of the living. He is still the king."

Malikai smiled sympathetically, "Of course, Your Highness. Forgive me. But I was going to say that the visitor is not a parishioner. It is a representative of the Gerudo. She says that she has an urgent message for you."

The Princess smiled a small, private smile, hiding it behind her gloved hand. Nabooru had been a valued friend and advisor as she was growing up. Though Zelda still remembered growing up under Gannondorf's reign, that life had been devoted to combat, hiding, and survival. In this life, Nabooru, along with Darunia, had been teaching her and Ruto about leadership, both from the throne and in everyday life. That life had been about making it to the next day, but this life was dedicated to her people.

"Send her in, Malikai," Zelda ordered. The older man nodded and signaled the guards. They, in turn, opened the doors. A tall, tan woman wearing the traditional Gerudo attire and carrying a bag began making her way across the throne room.

Zelda hoped the there wasn't any trouble. Nabooru had talked about a subversive group within her tribe, one that believed in Gannondorf's plans and ways. She worried that the group might take action. Between the plague in Kakariko Village, Princess Ruto's disappearance, and the crop failures, she really didn't have room on her plate for a civil war.

As the messenger came closer, Zelda could see a dark red stain on the bottom of the bag. The Gerudo, someone Zelda didn't recognize, stopped just before the throne. There, she untied the bag and unceremoniously dumped out the contents. A severed head fell from the bag. It didn't bounce or roll. It simply landed with a sickeningly wet _plop_ before Zelda's throne. The swollen tongue protruded from the mouth and the dead eyes stared unblinkingly at the princess.

Zelda forced her revulsion to the back of her mind and instead focused on the head. There was no doubt. It was Nabooru. The Princess turned her eyes to the Gerudo before her. The woman smirked.

"Anashu wanted me to tell you that this isn't personal," she said, "Times change and so do leaders."

Before anyone could react, a flash erupted from the woman. The guards looked around in confusion, trying to locate her. Zelda, having experience with such tricks, looked above. She saw the woman, clinging with one hand to one of the tresses in the ceiling. In the other, she held a dagger. Suddenly, she shot like an arrow at her target: Zelda.

With a wave, Zelda activated several spells. An instant before the dagger touched her, she vanished. The Gerudo assassin rolled as she landed, looking around in confusion. Several guards came running, swords drawn. Zelda realized that she had to stop them or they would be killed. The assassin already had swords of her own. Zelda, in a desperate move, launched several daggers at the feet of her guards. The blades stuck in the ground, causing the solders to halt and look around for the source. Zelda, dressed as a traditional Sheikah warrior, dropped from where she had been hiding. Sheik of the Sheikah tribe landed before the throne.

"She's mine," Sheik said quietly.

The assassin smirked "You think you have what it takes to defeat me?" she asked.

Sheik smiled, though no one saw it through her mask. "You're a pathetic attempt at assassination. If Anashu were serious about killing the princess, they would have sent an actual assassin, not a pathetic little pretender like you."

"You bastard!" the Gerudo screamed, "I'll kill you, Zelda, and every other son of bitch in this castle!"

Sheik dropped a deku nut, creating a blinding flash. The Gerudo covered her eyes in a vain attempt to shield them from the light. When her vision cleared, the Sheikah was gone. Laughter echoed around the throne room.

"You are pathetic. Anashu didn't even tell you about me, did she?" the voice mocked, "I am the reason that the Zelda has remained safe all these years. No matter where the princess is, I will always be nearby. You really think that you are the first to attempt to kill her. You're not even the first to get this close."

The voice laughed again. It was infuriating. The assassin looked frantically around, trying to find the source. She would never admit it out loud, but she was terrified. Anashu had said this would be simple. Deliver the head, kill the princess, finish off the king, and get out alive. She didn't say anything about facing a member of the Sheikah.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" she screamed.

"Behind you," a voice whispered. The speaker was so close, she could feel their breath. She whirled to face her target, but no one was there.

Sheik dropped a hand with enough force to break stone. It hit the Gerudo at the base of her neck, knocking her unconscious. The assassin let go of her swords and dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Only after a several seconds of silence did the guards approach.

The head guard, an older man named Duncan, looked to Sheik. "The princess, is she…"

"She is safe," Sheik answered, slightly enjoying reporting on her own safety to her head guard, "She teleported away."

"The Gerudo, we should question her," Duncan declared.

Sheik nodded, "Yes, we should, though I doubt she knows anything."

Duncan looked confused, "Master Sheik?"

The warrior knelt beside the woman, "Anashu knows of my existence and the difficulty it would cause for any attempt on her highness' life. This pathetic attempt is a message. Anashu is telling us that she has control of the Gerudo now."

The Guards all looked nervously to one another, then back to Sheik. They had all been present for the various meetings she had held with Hyrule's power players. They all knew as well as she that Anashu in control meant war with the Gerudo.

"What should we do?" Duncan asked.

Sheik stood and thought a moment, "I know what I would do, but I must confer with the princess. For now, be vigilant. Be sure that no Gerudo gets past the outer walls."

Duncan inclined his head, "Yes, Master Sheik."

She began to walk toward the door, but stopped just before the throne. Nabooru's head still sat on the ground, staring up at Hyrule's seat of power.

_I am sorry, my old friend,_ she thought. "Get rid of that before it starts to smell," she said to Duncan as she strode from the room.


	3. Lone Warriors

Samus didn't awaken, but rather became gradually aware that she was conscious. Over her, several strange faces stared down. Their delicate, leaf like ears twitched as she groaned. Large, insect like eyes gazed at her, as though taking a measure of the hunter's soul. Slowly, she sat up, the effort causing pain to explode anew in her skull. As she did, a large hand pressed against her back, supporting her. With her hand, she shielded her eyes against the oppressive light around her. Every muscle in her body ached. She felt like a piece of stone trying to sit up.

One of the creatures, Luminoth she realized, made several noises. Samus waited patiently for the translation to appear in her HUD until she realized that she wasn't wear her Power Suit.

"I don't understand," she said. The Luminoth spoke in it's foreign tongue again.

Samus huffed, "No, I can't understand what you're saying, not without my suit."

Another Luminoth, one Samus thought she recognized as U-Mos, gently moved the other aside. He raised his hand and spoke. As he made the sounds, words that Samus could recognize appeared, mimicking the translation matrix of her suit.

_We were worried that you had left this life behind. We are gratified to see that you are still with us._

Samus pushed her hands against her eyes in an effort to make the pain stop. It didn't help. U-Mos spoke again and she put her hands down to read what he had said.

_We saw you fall to Aether. What happened?_

"Metroid Prime," she said, "The one the Space Pirates called the Dark Hunter. She escaped." She groaned again, "My ship. It's still up there."

_No. After we found you, we brought it back down to Aether as well. It is nearby._

Samus looked around and saw that she was sitting on a very large bed in a room she didn't recognize. "Where am I?" she asked.

_You are in the infirmary in the great temple. The healing energies here brought you back from the edge of death. We retrieved what we could of your suit, though I fear that it is beyond repair._

The hunter smiled in spite of the pain she was in, "You'd be surprised. That suit has seen a lot. I need to get out of here."

_You need to rest._

"No," she said, more firmly, "I need to get out of here. Metroid Prime is alive and I have to stop her. I think she was responsible for the meteor that hit your world. If I don't find her now, she'll do it again."

The Luminoth looked nervously to each other for a moment before their gazes settled back to her. One of the others spoke. Samus looked to U-Mos until he waved his hand and a translation appeared in front of him.

_Do you think it this 'Dark Hunter' would rend another world in two? Would she create another dark world?_

Samus closed her eyes against the pain in her skull once again, thinking a moment before answering, "No. I think that was a fluke caused by the unusual energy of this planet. What you call the 'Light of Aether'."

Another Luminoth stepped forward and handed her a large box with what looked like a pile of scrap metal in it. Upon closer inspection, Samus could see that is was the remains of her suit. She took a quick inventory. One shoulder pad, the front chest piece, both boots, and the arm cannon. That was all, the entirety of her suit reduced to these few pieces. And even they didn't look all that functional.

She let go of a heavy sigh and set the box down beside her. She then swung her legs over the side of the large bed and slid off the edge. The ground came up much faster than she was expecting an she stumbled. She would have fallen, but a large, insect like hand caught her around the middle.

"I'm okay," she said once she was steady, then asked, "Where's my ship?"

As U-Mos gestured toward a door at the far end of the room, she reached up to the bed, which she only just now realized was shoulder height, and grabbed the box with the remains of her suit. Slowly, painfully, she followed the Luminoth Elder out of the infirmary.

They walked in silence until they reached her ship, sitting in the open area just outside the Great Temple's entrance. Several crates formed a makeshift set of stairs leading to the top of her ship, where the hatch was. She stared at it for a while. It occurred to her that she had never needed to enter it without the aid of her suit before. If the Luminoth hadn't thought to stack these boxes like this, she would have had to ask for a very undignified boost.

A sound grabbed her attention. She turned to see words floating before U-Mos.

_What will you do now?_

Samus turned her eyes skyward, "Track her, find her, kill her."

A hand touched her shoulder and she turned.

_Not just about the Dark One. About you. You seem to be very much alone in the universe. The trials you face are too burdensome for only one person._

She smiled in spite of herself. She put a hand on the alien's wrist. "I do have friends. In fact, one of them is expecting a call from me."

_You have those you call friends, but none of which you share your experiences with, not truly. You should take one of these friends into your confidence. The burden on your shoulders is far too great not to do so._

"Thank you," she said, "But I really need to get out of here."

She scrambled, less gracefully than she had hoped, up the crates and stepped over the hatch. U-Mos watched her wave as she lowered into the ship, then stepped back as the engines fired. The ship lifted easily into the air, picking up speed as it arced skyward. He stood for a long time, staring at the spot where it had disappeared from view, wondering about the fate of the warrior who had saved his people.

* * *

"We must attack!" Sheik practically screamed

Zelda took in a deep breath to keep from screaming herself, "We cannot attack. We are in no position to fight a war. Even without the plague and crop failures, we would still need the Zora's support, and they're still dealing with Princess Ruto's disappearance."

Sheik rolled her eyes, "What war? We send in a small detachment to distract them, and you and I will go in and kill Anashu ourselves. No muss, no fuss, just one very dead Gerudo."

A knock at the door drew Zelda's attention. She quickly pulled on a robe. With both hands, she lifted her hair out of the back before she closed it and tied the belt in a loose knot. Properly covered, she opened the door. Tyler, her bedroom guard, stood on the other side. His eyes scanned the interior, looking for Shiek.

"Everything alright, Your Majesty?" he asked without looking at her.

Zelda smiled. Tyler was very protective of her. His commanding officer had noticed as well, which was why Tyler was assigned to guard her bedroom. Zelda was sure the man harbored feelings for her that went beyond that of a loyal guard for his princess. He was not an unattractive man, if a bit older. Had she the time, Zelda might have been willing to allow him to court her. But sadly, such things had to be set aside, at least for a time.

"Yes, Tyler," she said, "Please forgive Sheik. We are simply having a rather lively debate about what to do about these unfortunate developments."

The man nodded, "Very well, Your Majesty. I am here if you need me."

She nodded herself and moved to shut the door, but stopped.

"Tyler, where is General Impa?" she asked.

"In the war room," he answered, "She is still coordinating search parties to ensure there are no more assassins about."

Zelda smiled. If there were anyone one person more obsessed with her safety than Sheik, it would be Impa. As Zelda had grown and her need for a nursemaid had dwindled, Impa had taken over the Hylian army. She had proven to be a very shrewd commander, much more then anyone had expected. And everyone had expected quite a bit.

"Send for her please," Zelda said, "I need to speak to her immediately."

Tyler saluted and took off at a jog down the hall. Zelda closed the door and turned back to her standing mirror, back to Sheik.

"You've made a decision," she said, knowingly.

Zelda undid the knot and let the robe slip from her shoulders, revealing once again the blue and white assassin garb of the Seikah.

Looking at herself, at Sheik, she sighed, "Times change and so do leaders. And some leaders last longer than others."


	4. The Chase

The trail went cold after only a few hours. The phazon particles simply dissipated too quickly. Samus sighed as she brought up her galactic map, knowing full well that it wouldn't help her. This area was uncharted. Even if it were, she wasn't sure if there was any pattern to Metroid Prime's attacks that she could follow.

Nothing. The galactic map showed only a blue haze in this part of the sector. Leaning back in her chair, Samus considered what to do. She didn't have any indication as to where Metroid Prime had gone, and this far out, it wasn't like she was going to get any contracts that might give her a clue. Finally making her decision, she brought up her communications array and connected to the nearest faster than light communications buoy. Once a solid link was established, she punched in her ID number and the ID of her GFMC contact.

A grim General Adam Malkovich appeared on her screen.

"Greetings, Aran." he said in his usual, military manner.

Samus sighed, "How many times do I have to tell you, Adam. I'm not under your command anymore. You can call me Samus."

"I'd prefer to keep things formal," Malkovich responded. He always preferred to keep things formal. "Do you have news about the GFS Tyr and her crew?"

"I do," she said, "I'm uploading the logs now. I'm afraid the news isn't good."

"They didn't make it," he said. Malkovich closed his eyes briefly, trying to mask the sadness that Samus knew he felt at the loss of a dozen good marines. These were men who had families. Wives, mothers, and children who would never see them again. And she knew that what she had to say next would only deepen that pain.

"I'm afraid it gets worse than that, General," she said, "Do you remember my report about my time on Talon IV?"

"Yes," he said, "You mentioned fighting a creature that you dubbed 'Metroid Prime'. You said this creature fed directly off of the Phazon that was created by the meteor strike."

Samus nodded, "I'm afraid that my report of the creature's destruction was a little premature. It's a long story, but the short version is that she … it's alive. I think it may have been responsible for the meteor that struck Talon IV. I found a somewhat similar situation on Aether."

Malkovich raised an eyebrow, "Aether?"

"That's the name of the planet that Tyr crash landed on," Samus answered, "The planet is inhabited by an intelligent species known as the Luminoth. It's all in my report, but the highlights are that Metroid Prime was there, and I'm certain it was responsible for the meteor strike on the planet."

Malkovich looked incredulous, "That's a little far fetched, Aran."

"I realize that, Sir," she winced inwardly at calling him sir out of habit, "But I believe it is the case."

"Very well," he said, "We'll look this over. Was there anything else?"

Samus briefly considered telling him about Metroid Prime's escape from Aether and the ensuing chase. But in the end, she decided against it. Even if he did believe her, there was no way he would sign off on sending backup for her. Either way, she was on her own.

"No, General." she answered, "Nothing Else."

"Very well," he said, "I'm arranging for your payment. You should see five hundred thousand credits in your account by morning."

"Thank you, Adam."

"You're welcome, Aran."

The channel closed. Samus switched on her active long range scan, hoping to get lucky.

* * *

Sheik made her way though Gerudo Fortress. She knew these halls well. Zelda had played in them as a child and marched through them as an adult. Nabooru had been a friend and a teacher. She had proven time and again her dedication and loyalty not only to Hyrule, but to Zelda herself. Her death would not go unpunished.

Two guards passed the intersection ahead of her. As quietly as possible, she crept close to listen.

"…don't believe those women are traitors," one was saying, "Kilana was one of the most loyal. I just don't think that she could have been in on a plot to kill Nabooru."

"Be careful who you say that around," the other whispered urgently, "Anashu has eyes and ears everywhere. If the wrong people hear you say that, you'll end up next in line for the executioner's block."

"And that's another thing," the first one said, "Since when do we execute anyone? We haven't even been thieves in almost a generation."

Sheik rolled her eyes. The guard was none too bright, despite her friend's warnings. They seemed, however, to be loyal to the crown. Weighing her options, she decided that revealing herself to these two could too easily lead to her discovery. The name they mentioned, however, sounded familiar. Zelda's voice came from the back of her mind.

_Kilana was on of Nabooru's most trusted advisers,_ she said, _If Kilana has been imprisoned, or executed, it is likely that anyone close to Nabooru has shared the same fate._

Sheik cursed silently. Even if she did take down Anashu, she had to also find a way to prove that Kilana and whoever else had been implicated had nothing to do with Nabooru's assassination. She had hoped the get in, kill Anashu, and get out so that the political situation would resolve itself. It looked like it wasn't going to be that easy. She weighed her options. Killing Anashu wasn't an option, at least not in the short term. Proving the truth about the assassination would require a great deal of covert effort that she simply did not have the time for this night. It a mere instant, Sheik's mission went from one of elimination to one of intelligence gathering.

She found a window a short way down the hall and quietly slipped through it, climbing to the roof. Staying low, she moved from shadow to shadow, using the darkness like a cloak to hide her presence from the watchful eyes of the Gerudo guards. She knew the direction of her destination without needing to look. Since Ganondorf's banishment, Nabooru had been using his room, the traditional residence of the King of Thieves, as a symbolic seat of power. If there was any evidence, it would be there.

Approaching the tower, Sheik moved to the north side. Not only would that shield her from the light of the full moon, but also was the side of the tower that faced the mountain. Pulling a pair of climbing claws from her belt, she gripped the stone and began her ascent. It was slow going, but the only other way in was the stairs on the inside of the tower, and they were sure to be guarded.

Her muscles burning, she finally reached the top. She raised her head above the ledge of the window just enough to allow her eyes enough space to survey the room. It appeared empty, but shadows in the corners could easily hide a waiting guard. Deciding the risk of doing nothing was greater than the risk of entering the room, Sheik slowly pulled herself through the window.

The soft rugs covering the stone floor cushioned her footsteps, allowing her to move silently even without the aid of magic. She looked around. A desk sat next to the wall on her right, facing the large double doors on the left wall. The large four posted bed was directly in front of her. The bed looked slept in. That made sense. Anashu would be using this room to solidify her position as leader of the Gerudo, as Nabooru had done before her. What troubled Sheik now was that the bed was empty. It was very late in the night. By all rights, Anashu should be here, asleep. Something was very wrong.

Suddenly, the dark corners of the room lit up. Where before they had been hidden by the darkness, she could now see twelve of the Gerudo's best archers. They moved quickly from the corners and encircled Sheik. The double doors opened slowly as two pike wielding guards pushed them from the other side, revealing a smirking Anashu.

"Well, well, well," she said in her deep, husky voice, "If it isn't Princess Zelda's favorite assassin. And here I though catching you would be hard." The chuckled to herself. She had the typical dark skin and large nose of the Gerudo, but she was taller than most. She stood almost a full head above her own guards. Her eyes were a pale blue, almost gray. Her hair, tied back in a pony tail, was long. It reached almost all the way to her waist. Her form was lean, but well muscled. This was a woman used to the rigor of constant training and combat.

"Tell me," Anashu continued, "What was Zelda's plan? Were you to simply sneak in here and kill me? Did she think to simply murder me in my sleep and hope that my successor would be more friendly to the crown?" Without answering, Sheik lowered herself into a crouch, throwing daggers at the ready.

Anashu chuckled, "Oh, I wouldn't do th-" Her words were cut off as Sheik's daggers flew. The six deadly blades found homes in the throats and chests of six of the archers. The others released the arrows they had trained on her, but she was no longer standing in the center of the ring. The arrows flew between the still standing archers and bounced off the stone walls of the room.

Two of her assailants grunted as Shiek, coming down from her jump, landed behind them and swept her leg beneath theirs. They hit carpeted stone floor hard. She reached for another one standing near her and, with a desperate pull, put the archer between her and the arrows of the last three archers. They landed with sickening thuds in the woman's chest. Sheik shoved her aside and hurled three more daggers at her remaining attackers. The first two dropped as the weapons hit home, but the third had moved, evading the deadly point. Before she was able to stand upright again, Sheik closed the distance and laid her out with a kick to the face.

Laughter, and the slow clap of a single person, echoed from behind Sheik. She turned to see Anashu, her two pike wielding guards still at her sides, admiring her work.

"Well done, Sheik." She laughed, "Well done indeed. Though this changes nothing. If you kill me, The Gerudo still go to war. And I know that is exactly what you are here to prevent."

Sheik's mind raced. While she doubted the entire Gerudo tribe would be willing to take on the might of Hyrule, there were certainly enough to cause a bitter civil war, or at the very least, a bloody rebellion.

_The assassin,_ Zelda whispered from the back of her mind, _Threaten her with the assassin._

"The assassin you sent after Zelda," Sheik said, watching Anashu's eyes narrow, "Not only did she fail, but I captured her alive. That alone is evidence enough of high treason. If Zelda brings that to the tribe, You'll be executed. Your only chance is to come with me and give the Royal Inquisitor a full confession. Perhaps then, he will spare you the executioner's blade."

Anashu's dark expression lightened slightly as a wicked grin spread across her narrow face. "You are a talented warrior, Sheik, but a terrible liar. No Gerudo would allow herself to be taken alive. Your only chance to avoid war is to deal with me."

Magic tingled the little hairs on the back of Sheik's neck. The room seemed to grow brighter as Anashu's expression changed to one of shock. A pair of arms suddenly grabbed Sheik around the waist and yanked her backwards. She fell into the well of light that had opened behind her. The image of the tower room in the Gerudo Fortress faded in the brilliant white light.

The light faded quickly, revealing the Focus Room in Hyrule Castle. The small room, which sat at the top of the central tower, was used to amplify magics meant to be used on the entire kingdom. This was how the spell had reached all the way across Hyrule and into Gerudo Valley. She turned to she Impa, her trusted general and adviser, standing over her. She was surrounded by half a dozen court wizards.

"Explain yourself!" Sheik screamed, "I was face to face with Anashu! Why did you pull me out?"

In response, Impa simply pointed out one of the large windows. The sight that met Sheik's eyes when she turn caused her heart to stop. A giant, flaming boulder, easily the size of a small town, was falling from the sky just above Gerudo Valley. Even though it seemed to be just above the ground, the journey seemed to take an eternity. She had never seen anything like it. Even Ganondorf, with all his wicked power, could not conjure something like this.

When it finally did strike, the flash was blinding. The intensity caused everyone in the room to turn away from it's brilliance. Sheik wasn't sure, but she thought she felt the heat from the blast. The light saturated everything around them. Sheik could even see it through her closed eyes.

When the light finally faded, she cautiously opened her eyes and searched for Gerudo Valley. She had expected to see it ablaze, but instead, it had simply vanished. In it's place stood dark void, like a gap in existance itself.

"What was that?" Impa asked. She didn't seem to be directing the question at anyone in particular.

"I'm not sure," Sheik said, "But I know what that is." She pointed at the void in reality.

"The Sacred Realm," one of the wizards said reverently.

Impa stepped forward, next to Sheik. "Not anymore," she said, "Now it is a world of darkness and evil." She put a hand on Sheik's shoulder, "Come, we should gather the remaining Sages."

"General?" one of the wizards addressed Impa, "Do you think it could be him? Could it be Ganondorf?"

Without a word, Impa left the room with Sheik following.

* * *

Samus ran through the cloud of darkness, searching desperately for any sign of light. The air seemed thick, coating the inside of her mouth and throat, choking her. She dropped to her knees, coughing, trying to get air. A noise caught her attention. It was caught somewhere between and a guttural growl and malevolent laughter. Looking up, she saw the thing. It was Metroid Prime. It stepped toward her slowly, deliberately. It stopped just before her, standing over her, watching her.

Samus tried to stand, but she was too weak. The thing continued to watch her. Eventually, it's arm cannon came up, mere inches from her face. Samus closed her eyes, awaiting the impact.

* * *

Samus stirred as the buzzer of her long range scanner continued to sound. She had set it to alert her if there was any detectable burst of Phazon energy. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked at the readout. A jolt ran through her. The burst that had been detected was off the scale. As she started the pre-ignition sequence, She tried to shake off the dream. _It was just a nightmare,_ she told herself, _Get a grip._

The ignition indicator flashed green, showing the ship was ready to travel. Setting her destination, she tried one more time to shake the feeling of the dream. The hyperdrive engaged, and she flew toward her destination. An unknown planet, in an uncharted system, in an unexplored sector. Silently, she prayed this planet had fared better than Aether.


End file.
